Mitch McConnell, 83, Collapses in Senate Office Building

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell tripped and fell in the Senate building Thursday, adding another worrying incident to his long list of public health issues.

McConnell, with the help of an aide, can be seen on video walking through the Senate halls while a woman asks him about ICE.

“Do you support ICE taking working people off the streets and kidnapping them?” the woman asks. Then McConnell abruptly falls to the ground as if he tripped over something. His aide and a police officer help him to his feet, as he turns and waves sheepishly to the woman while saying something inaudible. He then walks away.

McConnell’s age has long been a catalyst for conversations about gerontocracy and congressional term limits in the U.S. In 2023, he had his infamous freezing moment during a press conference, and colleagues have long noted that he often appears checked out and hard of hearing.

McConnell is not the first active politician to experience symptoms of age publicly. The late Senator Dianne Feinstein had issues with memory and processing while she was still in office. Senator John Kennedy had a McConnell-like freeze-up just this summer. And of course, former President Joe Biden had countless moments of mental incapacity. That is what happens when you age. But the issue is that all of these folks refused to admit it, and hold onto power for far too long.